It’s been a hard four years for the restaurant industry.
![A restaurant dining room with four picture frames of smiley faces over four dining tables.](https://20627419.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/20627419/hubfs/The%20Hustle/Assets/Images/2077866452-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Restaurants_20240124234506.webp?width=595&height=400&name=2077866452-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Restaurants_20240124234506.webp)
When the pandemic hit, restaurants were some of the most impacted businesses. In the US, an estimated 72.7k closed due to covid.
But now, there are signs of regrowth: Yelp listings show that ~53.8k new restaurants opened last year, representing 16.1 new restaurants for every 100k people, per Axios.
Some types of restaurants in particular have been taking off:
- Desserts (up 66% YoY)
- Pop-ups (up 66%)
- Creperies (up 63%)
- Hot pot (up 53%)
Certain cuisines have also experienced upswings, like African and Peruvian restaurants, which are up 65% and 28%, respectively, compared to 2019.
What’s for dinner?
The restaurants themselves aren’t the only things changing — menu offerings are getting revamped as shops compete in a cutthroat market.
And there are some noticeable trends emerging on today’s menus, per The New York Times:
- Certain classics reign supreme — like Caesar salads and fried chicken — with some unexpected new items taking off, like caviar, yuzu, and panna cotta.
- Desserts are becoming more drinkable (hello, espresso martini) and nostalgic.
- Alcohol-free beverages are still on the rise, with more menus dedicating entire sections to zero-proof drinks.
Plus, menus are increasingly colorful and modern, and include more content highlighting restaurant labor, like info on ingredient sourcing or explanations of service fees.
The restaurant renaissance…
… is not without its hardships. In a 2023 poll by Washington, D.C.’s restaurant association, 75% of establishments reported being less profitable than pre-pandemic.
Then, of course, there are the rising costs of labor and ingredients, with the added hurdle of budget-conscious customers dining out less.
Ending with a bit of good news: You’re not just getting older and going blind — smaller font sizes are actually in vogue, with some restaurants dipping down to 5 points.